Do You Play the Correct Tees?

[Hoganman1]

11 minutes ago, klineka said:

What's wrong with them playing from a set of tees back and you playing the next tees forward? It's unlikely that is would cause a significant difference in pace of play.

Even if you are sharing a cart with someone who is playing from the further tees back, you can get your club and start making your way up towards your tee while they are getting ready to hit, then stand off to the side on the cart path while they hit, then as they are walking back to the carts, you can be getting ready to hit your tee shot and hit as soon as they drive up to you. 

We bet and for some reason at our course the handicap system doesn't work well when we play from separate tees.

[cooke119]

Myself and the guys I play with are all in our late sixties or early seventies, we don't hit the ball that far anymore so we always play it forward. Even in the league I'm in if you are over 65 you play it forward. Speeds the game up and we always let better players play through if we're holding them up. It is just the right thing to do. 

[Buckeyebowman]

11 hours ago, klineka said:

What's wrong with them playing from a set of tees back and you playing the next tees forward? It's unlikely that is would cause a significant difference in pace of play.

Even if you are sharing a cart with someone who is playing from the further tees back, you can get your club and start making your way up towards your tee while they are getting ready to hit, then stand off to the side on the cart path while they hit, then as they are walking back to the carts, you can be getting ready to hit your tee shot and hit as soon as they drive up to you. 

 

10 hours ago, billchao said:

Or alternatively, drop the person off at their tee and drive up to yours, and they can walk to the cart as you’re teeing off?

These will work unless your group is trapped in the throes of self deception. You know, the old "I hit it just as long as I used to" that seems to afflict male golfers! My buddy suffered greatly from it, and he made me do so for a couple of years! Finally, I'd had enough, and told him that I was moving up to the Senior tees! When I started knocking Drives past him by as many yards as the Senior tees were ahead of the Whites, and I started beating him and taking his money, he realized that he didn't really hit it any farther than I did! 

Sometimes people need a wake up call! 

[dennyjones]

11 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Sometimes people need a wake up call! 

that's true.

[Patch]

I play what ever tees match up with 6500-6800 yards. Usually that's the whites. 

The whites are also where our senior's league plays from. 

Occasionally I will play from the tips, up to 7200 yards just for the heck of it. My score is about 5-6 strokes higher than my 6600 yard average. 

 

[The Flush]

Last night I played a league match in a 5-some that included 3 seniors (60 and over) playing the forward tees and 2 of us playing the white tees. It was not inconvenient at all to have people playing different tees. On holes where the forward tees are to the side of the white tees, they might drive ahead and wait for us to hit, but on others they would wait behind us to hit and then we would hang back and clean clubs or something while they drove up to the forward tees.

The only issue was that 2 of those seniors are better than the 2 of us playing back (could have beaten us from the same tees) and the forward tees have them a huge advantage in distance and even more so in danger avoidance. I hit a few really good (for me) drives last night and still couldn't make up the distance advantage.  I still had fun and am playing against myself more than against my opponent. I won 3 holes and maybe split another 2, but my opponent was keeping score and missed hole #5 and struggled to remember what he had the rest of the way, so I really don't know what he shot.

[gbogey]

One thing that is often missing from these benchmarks IMO is I think these work better for par 72 courses.  I remember several times hearing fellow players say, these tees are only 6500 yards.  That was for a par 70 course, so really the tees were around 6800 yards.

[KoHo]

I'm definitely playing the wrong tees. Looking at my last couple of rounds, when I don't top one off the tee box with my driver I'm hitting partial lob/sand wedges for my approach shots. I am 3 years into golf now and started my first 2 years primarily playing par3 and executive courses. Not much driver experience. At the beginning of this year I started playing full courses more and working on my driver swing. My slice is now pretty much gone, adding more distance, but I still duff a few tee shots per round. I was planning on waiting until I stopped duffing tee shots to move back but I think it's time....

[klineka]

2 minutes ago, KoHo said:

I'm definitely playing the wrong tees. Looking at my last couple of rounds, when I don't top one off the tee box with my driver I'm hitting partial lob/sand wedges for my approach shots. I am 3 years into golf now and started my first 2 years primarily playing par3 and executive courses. Not much driver experience. At the beginning of this year I started playing full courses more and working on my driver swing. My slice is now pretty much gone, adding more distance, but I still duff a few tee shots per round. I was planning on waiting until I stopped duffing tee shots to move back but I think it's time....

Depending on the course(s) that you play, you might score right around the same from a further set of tees back, which could potentially help lower your handicap without your skill improving.

I find that it varies based on the course, some courses play very similar when I jump one tee box back, other courses play much tougher when I jump a tee box back.

[KoHo]

Changing my vote. I'm playing the "correct tees" from now on. Just finished playing the back tees on a course I've never played and everything went fine. 2 strokes better than my course handicap. Only topped one drive. Just need to get used to new approach distances. Thanks @klineka

[easyjay39402]

My home course has done a great job of encouraging folks to play from the appropriate tees. A few years ago, you were the subject of jeers if you moved up. Now players are quick to point out when it’s time to accept your age. 
We do have a fun two-day event which features switching from forward tees to the tips on alternate holes.

Edited June 17, 2020 by easyjay39402
Addition.

[NZ Golfer]

I find playing off the blue tees over standard whites gives me 3 more shots on the HC which in COMP play comes in handy also

As I hit a long ball (upwards 290yards driver) I get in less trouble with trees on many holes and second shots aren't a major issue usually only have to pull a club longer .... only really one hole that is much harder 

In some ways I seem to play better golf playing slightly hard tee off zones ... more focus less room for error etc ??

[phan52]

Our tee boxes are: 6900, 6600, 6250 and 5600. I should definitely always play the 6250 yardage. It fits the chart for me but all of our competitions other than senior events are @ 6600. I don't want to get out of touch with playing that golf course, so I play that more often. I have more fun at 6250 but I am fine with grinding it out at 6600 because I still play in most of the clubs events. 

[Hardspoon]

Per the chart, I should play courses about 6,275. I voted “I play shorter tees”, because I usually try to play courses right around 6,000 yards. Some of that is because of the folks I play with.

I guessed 50% for the number who play tees too long...based on my “wild ass guess” observing people I’m paired up with when I play alone.

[Yukari]

I prefer around 6,800 yds.

Last week there was a foursomes playing the tips.  By the looks of things, they had no business being there.  They were spraying all over the place and were falling behind hitting 2-3 provisionals and even then searching for their balls all over the place.

[bwdial]

The two courses I played most recently are shorter from the tips for me; I am in between the red and purple.  I played them from one set of tees forward, but once I get my game in order, I can see playing from the tips.  The other course I play somewhat regularly is longer, and I play from one set of tees forward from the tips.  It tops out at 6580 yards, but it is along Lake Lanier, and thus, can be very windy.

[DrvFrShow]

Acc'd to the chart I should play from 6276 or thereabout. I usually play from 5600 - 5800 because 1) this is where a number of people with whom I play like to play from; 2) there are par 4s on the courses where you don't want to hit driver due to control reasons; 3) I'm taking my senior discount. 

Besides, on 55% of par 4s those on the PGA tour end up playing their 2nd shot from 150 yds or closer and are inside 120 yds around 25% of the time (I saw a chart recently and this is by best memory, this number could be off). 22% of the time between 150 and 175 yds. I figure this is a guide as to where I should be on my second shot and choose the tees accordingly. 

[bkuehn1952]

1. I play from too far back according to the chart.  I carry my driver around 200 yards on a decent hit.  The chart indicates 5,600 and I rarely play less than 6,000.

2. Using the chart, 50-70 percent of players are on tees that are too long.

i agree without the idea of teeing it forward.  Since I can still score decently from the tees I currently play, I plan to stay put for now.